


Only Swedish Angels Have Wings

by eafay70



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magical Realism, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Multi, Superpowers, Tyson/Gabe/Nate is endgame, Wingfic, established Tyson/Nate at the beginning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-29
Updated: 2019-06-29
Packaged: 2020-05-16 14:21:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19319938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eafay70/pseuds/eafay70
Summary: Gabe is used to dealing with all sorts of powers on hockey teams, from his wings to Z's precipitation control and everything in between. So Tyson's telekinesis and Nate's invisibility aren't a challenge. His feelings for the happily dating couple, on the other hand, are stressful enough to make him molt.





	Only Swedish Angels Have Wings

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Actual_Dunwich_Horror](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Actual_Dunwich_Horror/gifts).



> I truly hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it!
> 
> Note: Despite the title, Gabe isn't a literal angel in this fic. This AU doesn't have angels, just ordinary people with a variety of powers.

Gabe couldn't help smiling at the excited tone with which Kerfy was describing some obscure Harvard tradition to Nemo. While Gabe certainly didn't regret how his career had played out, he sometimes wondered what he might have studied had he gone to college. Right now, as the goalies talked to each other in a mix of animal languages, Gabe thought he would have liked to study powers.

Almost everyone in the world was born with some kind of power. One's power typically grew stronger over one's lifetime, with a major boost coming at puberty; for example, Gabe had been born with small wings, but hadn't mastered flight until he was a teenager. While powers were sometimes inherited directly from a parent or grandparent, they tended to be quite random, though some cultures had developed traditions regarding the mixing of powers. In Sweden, for instance, it was considered bad luck for someone with a physical power like Gabe's wings to marry someone with a weather-related power like Z's ability to control percipitation.

As the sounds of fond bickering reached the locker room, Gabe sighed. To the best of his knowledge, there was nothing unlucky about someone with telekinesis dating someone with invisibility. In fact, Gabe mused as Tyson handlessly carried his bag, Nate's bag, and (presumably) an invisible Nate himself into the locker room, they were the happiest boyfriends he'd ever seen. No, the unlucky part was the fact that, despite his best efforts over the past year and a half, Gabe was hopelessly in love with them.

With another sigh, Gabe finished getting ready and hit the ice. At least hockey gave him something else to think about for awhile.

* * *

After practice, Gabe forced himself not to think about Tyson and Nate, which was difficult considering they were loudly discussing their date night plans. He ignored the concerned look Gravy the telepath sent his way and headed to the shower for a few minutes. By the time he was back at his locker getting dressed for a lazy day at home, the boyfriends' conversation had ended, meaning Gravy no longer looked worried.

"Ew!!!!!!" Tyson screeched from the showers. "Gabe, there's a Landes-clog of feathers in the shower!!!!"

Gabe shook his wings lightly, then frowned at the pair of feathers that landed on his feet. He usually didn't molt until summer, and it was barely even spring - he'd have to figure this out at home. But first... 

"Sorry, Tys!" he replied, finishing getting dressed as quickly as possible. "I'll let the custodians know!"

* * *

The instant Gabe got home, he pulled off his shirt and unfurled his wings to their full size. Now that he thought about it, his back had been itchier than usual lately, which often indicated that he was going to molt soon. He walked to his ensuite bathroom and checked the shower - there was a single feather next to the drain. That made more sense for the beginning of a molt than the large clump in the locker room shower did. What on earth was happening?!

He took out his phone, then shook his head and put it aside - the last thing he wanted to do was look up something he didn't want his teammates to know about on a device they wouldn't hesitate to go through if given the chance. Instead, he took out his laptop, opened a private browsing window, and typed in his search: _wings molting wrong season_

The first result was from the renowned Sonic Powers Investigative Network, better known as SPIN, so Gabe clicked on it and started reading:

> "Changes in Molting, Skin-Shedding, and Similar Phenomena"  
>  by Dr. Emily Gardner & Dr. Lauren Wade
> 
> Most people whose powers include an animal-like epidermis, pelage, or exoskeleton experience molting on a regular basis. When something about a particular molt is different, it may cause concern or even alarm, but there is usually a simple explanation. We will list the most common of these explanations below, followed by a list of symptoms which may indicate the need to see a doctor.
> 
> 1\. Stress  
>  The likeliest cause of changes in molt - or anything having to do with a person's powers - is an increase in stress. During a stressful time in one's life, a molt may start earlier and last past the usual end date. On the other hand, someone who has been somewhat stressed for a long time may suddenly experience the early start of an uneven molt. In these cases, rather than gradually increasing and then decreasing in a recognizable trend, the molt will have small moments during times of relative calm and large moments during times of relative stress.

Gabe slammed his laptop shut, not needing to read further. The hockey season wasn't terribly stressful yet, so his biggest source of stress was being in love with two of his best friends who were also dating each other. Apparently, after a year and a half of seeing Tyson and Nate in a very happy relationship, his feathers had had enough. (It was a weird way of wording it, Gabe acknowledged, but it made sense to him.)

With a loud groan, Gabe fell facedown onto his bed. What was he supposed to do now??

* * *

Gabe couldn't sleep that night. He knew he needed the rest because they were about to start a long road trip, but now that he was aware of his uneven molt, it felt like his back wouldn't stop itching, no matter how much enhanced aloe he rubbed on. Sighing, he sat up and allowed his thoughts to wander where they usually did: those two Canadians to whom his heart belonged.

Back when Gabe first joined the team, it took him very little time to fall for Tyson. Sure, plenty of people had nice legs, but Tyson had the best legs imaginable! He was obviously strong, not only in terms of his incredible telekinesis but also in terms of his muscles; Gabe knew Tyson sometimes got self-conscious about his build, but Gabe loved that it was a soft strength rather than a rock-hard stereotype. And those eyes, and that smile, and that hair...oh, and did Gabe mention Tyson's laugh? Or his charm, baking skills, unabashed love for Celine Dion, and jaw-dropping hockey moves?

Suffice to say that Gabe was ridiculously in love with Tyson, but completely unwilling to risk their friendship by revealing his feelings, by the time Nate joined the Avs. Nate was also built with soft strength, but the rest of him wasn't much like Tyson - his smile, hair, and eyes were wonderful in their own way. His kindness and work ethic meshed perfectly with his charm and tendency to lighten the mood by doing silly things while invisible. And Gabe could probably spend hours talking about his hockey...actually, by now he'd actually done that, albeit mostly to himself.

In short, Gabe wound up ridiculously in love with Nate, too - and, as was the case with Tyson, Gabe considered Nate too good of a friend to risk losing by revealing his feelings. Tyson and Nate were the team's "Best BFFs" within weeks (as in, the media people gave them matching plaques declaring them such). And, in retrospect, Gabe wasn't really surprised when they told him they were dating. It just made keeping his feelings hidden even more important.

Gabe groaned and resumed scratching his back. It was a good thing, he supposed, that he tended to fold in his wings when he was in the locker room - while the primary reason was not wanting to accidentally hit anyone in the crowded space, it also meant that the scratches on his back would be hidden, unlike the scratches on Nate's and Tyson's backs.

That thought sent Gabe's mind on a whole other path. Two hot guys who knew each other as well as they knew themselves? Not to mention how often the two of them showed up looking smugly satisfied? It had to be incredible! What Gabe wouldn't give to be a fly on the wall!

...Wait a minute.

Gabe blinked a few times in shock. "I love them together, too," he whispered.

It made sense: the three of them had been very good friends for years, plus Tyson and Nate made a point of continuing to hang out with Gabe sometimes even though they were dating. But was it possible to add romantic feelings to a three-person friendship?

* * *

During the road trip, Gabe spent some time each night pondering what to do about his feelings. He found that it helped his back itch a little less, but the molting was still an unpredictable nuisance. It got to the point where everyone was calling him "Landes-clog," to Tyson's obvious delight and the media's obvious confusion (though that part wasn't anything new). 

On the first day of practice back home, Gabe wound up helping clean up a mess made by Josty's laser-beam eyes and JT's wind power before he could get changed. He hurried back to his locker and started getting changed, only for something to appear in front of him: wodden clogs.

"Enjoy!" Nate's voice rang out behind Gabe. He turned around and saw Nate turn visible. "Get it?"

"Yes," Gabe sighed, pretending to be annoyed before he felt himself being lifted. "Hey!"

"Hay is for horses," Tyson informed him, wrapping an arm around Nate. "That's EJ's department." A clattering of hooves indicated that EJ agreed with this statement.

Gabe sighed again as Tyson put him down. "Enough silliness. Time for practice."

* * *

To nobody's surprise, Gabe wound up leaving quite a few feathers in the shower after practice. He didn't like making the custodians do extra work all the time, so he waited until everyone else left, then cleaned the shower drain with a special spray he'd brought in from home. It was tedious, but it helped Gabe stop thinking about how extra cuddly Tyson and Nate had seemed today.

Gabe walked back to his locker - and stopped in his tracks. "I thought everyone was gone."

"Gravy talked to me in the parking lot," Z explained. "He said your thoughts were unhappy and...what was his word for it...conflicted? Yes, unhappy and conflicted about Tyson and Nate. So he thought maybe you would want to talk to me."

It was a truth widely acknowledged that Nikita Zadorov was easily the best listener and advice-giver on the team; in fact, he sometimes got calls from his ex-teammates on the Sabres seeking advice. Talking to Z couldn't hurt, Gabe figured. "Okay. Let's go to my place."

Z waited until they got there to start the conversation. "I had noticed that you keep looking at Nate and Tyson. You're doing it even more on days when you clog the shower with your feathers."

Gabe nodded. "I...I've liked Tyson for just about as long as I've known him - not just as friends, but...yeah. I never did anything because I didn't want to lose our friendship. Then Nate came here, and I felt the same way about him. Once they got together, I did my best to get over them, but it didn't work. And then, when the molting started, I found out that it was probably stress, and...I wound up realizing that I really like them both, not just..."

"You like Nate, you like Tyson, and you like Nate-and-Tyson."

"That's exactly it," Gabe said softly. "I know it's possible to have more than two people dating each other, but I don't know if Tyson or Nate would want that."

"I think it's worth asking." Z rested his hand on Gabe's shoulder. "They're your best friends. If they say no, they'll do so without impacting your friendship, or at least with as little friendship impact as possible. And if they say yes, you'll all be very happy."

Gabe exhaled slowly. "How do I do it?"

"Do you have plans this Sunday?"

"Um...no, why?"

"I have to keep the rain and snow away for...my own reasons," Z grinned. "So it would be the perfect day for you three to go somewhere nice and talk."

"Okay," Gabe nodded slowly. It was worth a try.

* * *

Gabe was a nervous wreck on Sunday. With every step he took, at least three feathers fell to the floor. What if they said no??

The doorbell rang, startling Gabe so much that he almost flew into the ceiling. After taking a few deep breaths, he went to the door and opened it with a smile. "Hey, guys."

"Hey, Landesnerd!" Tyson beamed. "Ready to go to the park?"

"Yep." 

Nate grinned. "Then let's go!"

The park was within walking distance of Gabe's home. It was always calm and peaceful, but Gabe couldn't quite relax as he sat down beneath a large tree and the two men he loved sat on either side of him.

"Whoa there!" Nate disappeared, then reappeared a few inches away in front of Gabe. "Tell your wings I don't like getting tickled!"

"Sorry, dude. I didn't notice." Gabe concentrated on moving his wings away from Nate.

"Neither do I, Landes-clog!" Tyson yelped, scrambling to Nate's side. They were both in front of Gabe now. "First the molting, now this - is something going on??"

"No!" Gabe said quickly, hoping to ease the worry in Tyson's voice and on Nate's face. "I mean...it's not a bad thing, it's not a hockey thing."

"Then what is it?" Nate asked softly.

"I..." Gabe gulped. "I really, really like you. Not just best-friend-like, but also...well, love, too. I love you."

Tyson and Nate shared a quick glance. While they no longer seemed worried, they now appeared very, very confused. "Who's 'you' in that sentence?" Tyson asked.

"Both of you...and...each of you?" Gabe frowned, trying to remember how Z had said it. "I love you, Nate, and I love you, Tyson, and I love you, Nate-and-Tyson."

Tyson still seemed confused. "So you..."

"Remember that time we were talking about Worlds and you wound up waxing poetic about Gabe's gorgeous everything?" Nate interrupted. Tyson nodded slowly. "Well, if I'm understanding this correctly, Gabe wants what we fantasized about following that conversation."

Gabe felt his jaw drop. Tyson gasped. "You want to sleep with us?!"

"I was thinking full-blown dating, not just sleeping together," Gabe quickly clarified. "Being friends is still a must. But...yeah, that's the idea."

Tyson and Nate shared another quick glance, then smiled at Gabe. "Yes," Tyson said. "Be our boyfriend, Gabe the babe."

"You're the only person we'd ever consider this with," Nate added.

Before Gabe could even try figuring out what to do other than smile, rain began to pour. "I wonder what went wrong for Z," Gabe mused.

"Let's table that for tomorrow." Tyson stood up, then used his telekinesis to help Gabe and Nate stand up. "I really want to defile all your Ikea furniture."

"And the non-Ikea furniture!" Nate said.

Gabe laughed and spread his wings over them so they wouldn't get too wet. "Then it's time for me to take my boyfriends home."

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback is greatly appreciated!
> 
> I made a list of everyone's powers on a piece of paper, but I lost the piece of paper. :( Sorry!


End file.
